Description

William III. and Mary II. 1689-1694. Silver Medal 1689, 15.10 g. Coronation of William III and Mary II. Unsigned. Shield of William III, as Prince of Orange, crowned within the Garter. BRITTAN . LIBER . RELIGIUSTIT . LEG . VIND . M . D . C . L . XXXIX. Rv. An armed female figure, holding staff surmounted by the cap of Liberty, leans upon a Bible, placed on an altar decorated with the rose of England and the arrows of the Provinces. HANC TUEMUR HAC NITIMUR. Reeded edge. 33.3 mm. Eimer -. MI i 677/53. van Loon III, 389. Saunders/Vanhoudt 1689-26. Gutes sehr schön / Good Very Fine. Kleiner Randfehler / Minor edge flaw.

From the auction WAG 20, Dortmund, September 2002, lot 4879.

William III and Mary II were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on 11 April 1689 by the Bishop of London, Henry Compton. Normally, the coronation is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but the Archbishop at the time, William Sancroft, refused to recognise James's removal.

The joint rule of William III of Orange (1650 - 1702), the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic and the grandson of Charles I of England, and Mary II (1662 - 1694), the daughter of James II of England and his first wife, Anne Hyde, established constitutional monarchy and laid the foundation for modern parliamentary democracy.

This medal was struck in Holland and was distributed at the Hague on the day of the coronation.